When it comes to coal, Australia has transitioned away from economics and common sense

Australia isn’t transitioning away from extracting fossil fuels, it is doubling down on them. That’s right – even though Australia is already the third largest fossil fuel exporter in the world, the federal government still wants to double our coal exports, drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight and open more farmland to fracking.

‘Australia isn’t just the world’s largest coal exporter.
We are the world’s largest exporter of LNG, the third
largest exporter of fossil fuels and the 14th largest
emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world.’

Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal. In fact, our share of the world’s traded coal market is bigger than Saudi Arabia’s share of the world oil market. If Australia opened the Adani mine, and all the other mines proposed in Australia, we would indeed double our coal exports. But we would also drive down the world price of coal, drive down production in existing coalmines, and drive up global emissions. It’s not complicated. But while Australia shows no sign of transitioning away from fossil fuels, we have well and truly transitioned away from economics and common sense when it comes to coal.

And in the rush to mine more coal, Australia is transitioning away from its stated foreign policy. Since the second world war, Australia has sought to play a leadership role among the Pacific Island nations. This positioning has provided both a physical buffer to our north and a significant diplomatic platform. But that could all be coming to an end.

Read the story from The Guardian by Richard Denniss - “When it comes to coal, Australia has transitioned away from economics and common sense."